I'm looking forward to seeing everyone at KILLERCON Austin! Come say hello! Thank you to Joe Ripple and Scares That Care in Virginia for an amazing weekend. I'm still recovering as I go into the next con. haha! Check out my gallery to see pics of the fun.

Sylvia Stein is a published author with several anthologies with her Writer’s group 750 on LinkedIn. Stein obtained a Master’s Degree in Creative Writing and English from Southern New Hampshire University this past July 2015. She is a mother of three beautiful children Paul 10, Michael 9 and Consuelo 6. She resides in the city of Fuquay Varina with her amazing husband Jeremy. Stein has also published two solo books one was her first novella Closure which she worked on while attending SNHU and published in July of 2014 and the other her first YA Chasing Clarity was published this past October 2015 and it was created during National Novel Month (Nano) in 2013. Her ...

The smoke danced off the edge of her cigarette which dangled between two long fingers tipped by HellFire red lacquer. Her eyes were closed, oblivious to the rest of the world as she swayed back and forth. The men stood there in silence. She was thinking. And they knew better than to disturb her when she was like this. "I specifically said clear plastic," her voice cut through the tension like a scalpel. "Y-yes ma'am but on short notice--" Betty-Body Bag Betty as the world knew her-rose to her feet and lashed out with the box cutter. A thin red line appeared along the throat of the man who brought her excuses in lieu of her demands. "Every fucking time, Andy," she said in a quiet, eve...

Young Morrigan, the daughter of a local aristocrat, is full of innocence and life. Angus Wulfe is an eccentric and devious doctor who stalks her while he cultivates a plan to win her affection. Their two worlds collide in a grisly twist of fate when the Plague arrives on the shores of their town. With no cure in sight, and bodies dropping incrementally every day, the doctor uses his influence, along with his reputation in medical advances - stemming from his clandestine and macabre experiments-to manipulate Morrigan’s father. In return for her hand in marriage, the doctor would save her life. Clinging to life, Morrigan begins to feel a change. Has the docto...

One of the things I encounter a lot when I'm mentoring, or speaking to new authors, is the question, "What's the average word count for _____?"

It's not uncommon for new authors to face this daunting question, then fashion their work according to the rule of "word count". My answer, however, never changes. I tell the, "Focus on the quality of the words, not the word count."

I know there are naysayers out there who firmly believe in stringent rules for word counts. A novel must be over 60-75k words. Unless it's in the Fantasy genre. Then we aim higher for 90k words. While these are fair goals to shoot for, it can start to hinder progress. If the author is caught up in shaving, or padding their story, the story i...